Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley will not seek re-election

MADISON, Wis. (CIVIC MEDIA) – Rebecca Bradley, a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s conservative minority, says she won’t seek re-election in 2026.

Bradley made the announcement Friday, Aug. 29.

“I will not seek reelection to the Wisconsin Supreme Court because I believe the best path for me to rebuild the conservative movement and fight for liberty is not as a minority member of the Court,” she said.

Bradley was elected in 2016, defeating JoAnne Kloppenburg. In her nearly ten years on the bench, she has developed a reputation as one of the further-right members of the court, including issuing the minority opinion in the ultimately unsuccessful case brought forth by the Trump administration, attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, and comparing stay-at-home orders during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. 

The only declared candidate for at the moment for 2026 is Chris Taylor, a former Democratic legislator and current judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

In a statement following Bradley’s decision, Taylor said, “Judge Taylor has spent the last three months traveling across Wisconsin, connecting with voters, and building support for her campaign for Wisconsin Supreme Court because our state deserves someone who stands for justice – this announcement doesn’t change that. Thanks to her work and decades of protecting the rights and freedoms of all Wisconsinites, she has earned the support of over 100 judges, including a majority of current state Supreme Court justices.” 

With Bradley’s announcement, there will be another open race for Wisconsin Supreme Court, as there has been in 2023 and 2025.

Majority control of the court won’t be on the line, however. Bradley’s pending departure will instead give liberals an opportunity to expand their majority from 4-3 to 5-2. Conservatives will seek to keep the seat in their control, keeping a narrow majority. 

While Taylor is now the only candidate officially running, she could soon face an opponent. In a social media post celebrating Bradley’s legacy on the court, Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar said she was “seriously considering” launching a campaign for Wisconsin Supreme Court. 

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin, which supported the successful campaigns of current Justices Janet Protasiewicz and Susan Crawford, issued a statement from Chair Devin Remiker, where he said, “Republicans are dead in the water as Trump’s assault on the working class continues. Rebecca Bradley saw that Wisconsinites resoundingly rejected a corporate takeover of our Supreme Court and knows that WisDems remains a juggernaut to support strong candidates like Susan Crawford, Janet Protasiewicz, and Jill Karofsky — and we are more than ready to do it again.”

The 2026 Spring Election will be held on April 7.

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